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2023-03-31-accounts

Charity Registration Number 1101649

Bolton Solidarity Community Association

Trustees' report and financial statements

for the year ended 31 March 2023

2-16 Mayor Street Bolton BL3 5HT

Tel: 01204 334004 Website: www.boltonbsca.com Email: bolsomcom@hotmail.com

Bolton Solidarity Community Association Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 Contents

Page
Contents 1
Legal and administrative information 2
Secretary's Report 3
Trustees report 4-11
Statement of Trustees 12
Accountant's report 13
Statement of financial activities 14
Income and expenditure account 15
Balance sheet 16
Notes to the financial statements 17-19

1

Bolton Solidairity Community Association

The report of the trustees for the year ended 31 March 2023

Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities

Legal and administrative information

Status

B.S.C.A. The full name of the charity is Bolton Solidarity Community Association .

The legal registration details are:

Date of formation: 15 May 2002 The principal Office is: 2-16 Mayor Street, Bolton, BL3 5HT Charity Registration Number: 1101649 The telephone number: 01204 334004 Website: www.boltonbsca.com Current Trustees Hussain Ahmed Osman Chairman Ahmed Sarman Secretary Mohamed Arale Treasurer Ali Abdullah Awad Member Secretary Ahmed Sarman Charity Registration Number: 1101649 Registered Office 2-16 Mayor Street Bolton BL3 5HT Accountants Berkley Heath 2 Redstone Road Manchester M19 1RB Business address 2-16 Mayor Street Bolton BL3 5HT Bankers Lloyds Lloyds Bank Daub Hill Branch Bolton BL3 6LS

2

Bolton Solidairity Community Association

The report of the trustees for the year ended 31 March 2023

Our Annual report highlights the differences we have made to new and emerging communities in Bolton borough during the year 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023. B.S.C.A. is an organization whose mission is to work with and support people from new and emerging communities.

The trustees of B.S.C.A. are pleased to introduce this year’s annual together with the financial statement of the charity for the last 12 months ended 31st March 2023.

The post-pandemic environment remains challenging for every organisation and their clients. The cost of living has particularly affected the clients we support or work with. It was a tough and challenging year, which in many ways affected their daily lives. Despite the B.S.C.A. facing many challenges this year, the organisation was able to continue to carry out many activities that benefit the local community in Bolton and beyond.

On behalf of B.S.C.A., I would like once more to take this opportunity to thanks and convey my deepest appreciation to the Management Committee, Staff and our dedicated Volunteers for their hard work, and commitment that has enabled B.S.C.A. as an organisation to achieve the many things that our local community has benefited from.

We would not be able to do this without the support of our funders and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their continued support. We also give special thanks to the following funders who provided financial support during the last year: Bolton at Home, Lloyds Foundation, The DWP, Igen Trust, Bolton CVS, Bolton Council, Bolton Together, Good THINGS Foundation, GMCVO, Bolton Carers Support, The Voluntary sector of Bolton and many more.

This report was approved by the board of trustees on 27 December 2023

Ahmed Sarman

On behalf of the Management Committee.

3

Bolton Solidairity Community Association

The report of the trustees for the year ended 31 March 2023

Who we are

Bolton Solidarity Community Association (B.S.C.A.) was founded in 2002 and achieved registered charitable status in 2003. Our service users are mainly the most disadvantaged and hard-toreach members of the local Community, mainly of new and emerging communities in Bolton borough and surrounding areas. Our services are also open to the wider members of the local communities regardless of background.

Over the last 21 years, B.S.C.A. has become a model of best practice for other charities in the area. Our background and our experience mean that we have unique insight across Bolton’s many communities. We are best placed to offer you the understanding and the reach that you need to make a real difference. This year, the number of clients or cases we have dealt with is more compared to the previous year.

B.S.C.A.’s Values are

Open and Honest Integrity Working together Empowerment Respect and valuing others

Our Vision:

Our vision is to improve the quality of life for disadvantaged, isolated and marginalised new and emerging communities in Bolton Borough.

B.S.C.A.'s Aims and Objectives:

To provide an accessible and welcoming venue that is a focal point for the community, a place for people to meet and where B.S.C.A. offer their services and activities.

To reduce isolation among new and emerging communities in Bolton and support them to promote their cohesion and integration into the wider society and also build the confidence of the new and emerging community.

To support young people to prevent their involvement in crimes and help them to improve their education achievement.

To reduce health inequalities in the Bolton Borough and raise awareness of new health issues affecting new and emerging communities which contribute to inequalities i.e. Khat, Female Circumcision, domestic violence etc.

To improve employability skills of new and emerging communities in Bolton and also improve their involvement in main stream services.

To build a stronger and more sustainable organisation.

4

Bolton Solidairity Community Association

The report of the trustees for the year ended 31 March 2023

Governance, Structure and Management

Legal structure

B.S.C.A. (Bolton Solidarity Community Association) has been a registered charity since 2003. The charity is constituted by a Constitution. It is governed by the regulations set out in the Constitution and run by diverse trustees from a different professional background.

Staff

Regarding the funding we have secured for several projects that B.S.C.A. is implementing, we have secured to employ nine part-time workers including a chief officer, Development manager, Youth Coordinator and several project officers. B.S.C.A. activities are mainly supported by B.S.C.A. volunteers.

Volunteers

B.S.C.A. volunteers have been one of the backbones of B.S.C.A. in the last twenty one years, and we believe that the existence of B.S.C.A. would be difficult without the contribution of volunteers.

B.S.C.A trustee’s responsibilities

B.S.C.A. trustees ensure that the charity is carrying out its purpose for members of the community benefit and also comply with the charity’s governing document. B.S.C.A.s are led by trustees who volunteer their time to lead B.S.C.A.. They give their valuable time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the B.S.C.A. charity.

The trustees are aware of the potential risks to the charity, both financial and otherwise. Therefore, strategies are in place to control these risks. All the trustees of the B.S.C.A. including the chair are elected once every two years by the members of the organisation attending the Annual General Meeting. The trustees met 6 times during the year to review the activities of the charity including the approval of the annual report and accounts as well as budgets, capital expenditure and to set out the fundraising date for the charity.

The trustees met 6 times during the year to review the activities of the charity including the approval of the annual report and accounts as well as budgets, capital expenditure and to set out the fundraising date for the charity.

Membership

To strengthen its performance as an organisation and its capacity B.S.C.A. is a member of the following platforms: Bolton CVS, NCVO, GMCVO, BME network, Bolton Together and Rum Worth Community Alliance.

Through our membership in the organisations, we receive advice, information and access to training, as well as opportunities to share knowledge and network with other organisations.

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Bolton Solidairity Community Association

The report of the trustees for the year ended 31 March 2023

Policies:

Reserve policy:

B.S.C.A. as an organisation believes that we need to maintain our reserve of our financial stability and allow B.S.C.A. to meet its commitment to continue to undertake work and deliver services even when unexpected events come. This year the charity operates a minimum reserves account balances of £25,000 The B.S.C.A. trustees are working hard to secure a sufficient level of reserves.

Financial review policy

B.S.C.A. financial review and financial Governance are in place. As an organisation, we have a system to control and record the organisation’s finances and keep track of all financial transactions, including Financial documents e.g. Income and expenditure, cash flow, business plan etc.

Risk Management:

B.S.C.A. has risk management which is reviewed annually by the trustees of the organisation. B.S.C.A. trustees are well aware of the benefits of reviewing this policy including risk assessment and maintaining a risk register.

Activities and achievements of the year (2022/2023)

- Client drop-in advice sessions
- Flexible support
- FGM project
- ESOL
- Unlocking wellbeing project
- Work experience
- Digital inclusion
- HAF (Holiday Food and Activities Program)
- Substance misuse awareness (Khat)
- Hidden talent
- Outreach work
- Bolton Unity Project (Inter-generational activity, Social mixing program,
walk, Black History Month)
- B.S.C.A. training and workshops
- International women’s day
- EU settlement scheme
- Litter picking
- Homework club
- Weekend sports activities
- Partnership

Client drop in advice sessions:

This service is one of the most vital services that B.S.C.A. staff and their volunteers provide support to B.S.C.A. clients who come to the centre for help with various issues. The B.S.C.A. centre offers a range of advice and support services. The advice includes education, housing, employment, local services etc.

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Bolton Solidairity Community Association

The report of the trustees for the year ended 31 March 2023

B.S.C.A.’s client drop-in advice is a service available for B.S.C.A. clients on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (three-day service). During 2022/2023the number of cases we have dealt with within this service was 3757 cases.

Flexible Support

We have been lucky to secure one year of funding from the DWP (Department for Work and Pension). The project is taking place at the B.S.C.A. community building on Mayor Street. The overall aim of the “flexible support project “is to increase the chances of employment for those who have been unemployed for some time due to different barriers. This project is working specifically with unemployed people living in Bolton who are over 18 years of age.

Activities of the project:

During this project 2022/2023, support was given to 117 people both male and female. The project was successful as it provided face-to-face meetings and employment sessions. Some of these people were lucky enough to get employment opportunities through this project while others got volunteering activities. The other success of the project was working with project volunteers as well as other partners to support the target group if placement and volunteering opportunities were needed.

FGM Project:

B.S.C.A. continues to provide FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) services to clients who are victims of FGM. In 2022/2023 B.S.C.A. held workshops and one-to-one support aimed at eradicating FGM. Workshops were mainly based on allowing FGM victims to share or discuss the problems

Another activity related to the FGM project was the training we provided to some schools in Bolton, especially primary and secondary schools. This training aimed to strengthen awareness of FGM and ways to prevent it. During 2022/2023 the project workers provided 113 one-to-one advice sessions and 11 FGM community workshops.

ESOL

During 2022/2023 we have initiated some ESOL classes at the B.S.C.A. centre (Mayor Street) in partnership with Bolton College. The ESOL classes were available twice a week, Friday morning and Monday afternoon. The ESOL classes were based on face-to-face classes, group conversation and one-to-one help. During this year 57 people benefitted from the ESOL lessons.

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Bolton Solidairity Community Association

The report of the trustees for the year ended 31 March 2023

Unlocking wellbeing project

In this unlocking wellbeing project, B.S.C.A. was one of the research partners to raise the needs of carers from BME. Currently, B.S.C.A. is one of the partner organisations dealing with BME carers and their needs.

During 2022/23 key workers of the project made contact and engaged with health centres and GP practices in the Rum Worth area to promote the project and raise awareness. Also, B.S.C.A. has set up a referral system with partners in Rum-worth and this has seen 47 people have been referred from various sources including self-referral to our key project worker for support. This year Carers from the Rum- worth area took part in Carers Week with a social drop-in session on the Friday of that carers week. 16 Carers attended on that day. Also, some other carers and volunteers from the project participated in other awareness trainings. According feedback and views from the participants were positive.

Work Experience

We provide this work placement to year 10 students who usually spend one week working with different sections of the B.S.C.A. such as the youth activities section, client drop-in, Admin and homework club section.

At the time the students are working with B.S.C.A. to get work experience is an enormously valuable part of their education. It allows students to spend time in our workplace to develop the skills they need for work. About 36 students have been helped by B.S.C.A. this year to get work placement experience from our organisation.

Digital Inclusion

With the support of the Good Things Foundation, we have provided free iPads and free SIM cards to some of B.S.C.A. clients and service users, who are digitally excluded. Many of B.S.C.A.’s clients struggle and have problems accessing online services. In 2022/2023, we have created opportunities to provide training to clients who have a lack of digital knowledge. For example, some of the new arrivals in Bolton find it difficult to use the Universal Credit digital service. For these clients to get the skills they need to manage their claims and have access to their Universal Credit Claims, B.S.C.A. provides 7 digital training workshops to people who are new to the system.

HAF (Holiday Food and Activities programme)

B.S.C.A. delivered 5 weeks of HAF activities on the Easter and summer holidays in 2023. The activities of these two programs for Easter and summer were held from Monday to Thursday, In the morning from 11.00 - 13.00 the sessions were arts and crafts based in the morning with physical activity from 1:00-3:00 p.m. During these sessions, the children were doing activities that are related to making things with their own hands and learning skills. Sometimes they were drawing different things while sometimes they were learning how to design letters using Calligraphy. Painting and sculpture were also among the things that the children learned in this session.

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Bolton Solidairity Community Association

The report of the trustees for the year ended 31 March 2023

The sessions were very interesting for the children as they were guided by a professional person in this area with the help of three volunteers who themselves have experience in making things related to arts and crafts. In the afternoon the focus was on physical activity which included sports. The sports that the children were doing in this session included the following: Mini football, Mini rounders, Boxing, Basketball and mini circuit floor exercise. This allowed our young people to stay active during the holidays. A total of 79 children participated in these Easter and summer programs.

Substance misuse awareness (Khat)

As we know, on June 24th, the Home Office banned Khat from the UK and it was classified as a C drug. Although Khat has been banned, it cannot be said that Khat is not used in the UK. There are still individuals who regularly use it. These people who still use Khat to chew certainly affect their health, income and lifestyle. Through this project, Khat users offered sessions and workshops related to the impact of Khat use on their personal health and social issues.

B.S.C.A. Khat project worker met with 121 Khat users during 2022/23, who provided them with advice and support related to how these users can stop using Khat and change their lives to a healthier lifestyle. From that period, 9 workshops were also organized and attended by some of the Khat users. The aim of these workshops were to raise awareness about the health problems of Khat and the fact that Khat is illegal in the UK and may result in criminal charges.

Hidden Talent

This program aimed at young people between the ages of 16 and 24 was one of the activities carried out by B.S.C.A. in 2022/2023. This program was about working with young people to make progress in terms of getting a job and also improving their self-esteem and well-being. Through this program, we have worked with 19 young people, who were given guidance and support by professional coaches.

Outreach work

B.S.C.A. plays an important role in working and engaging to reach out to disadvantaged people in Bolton. There are clients who for various reasons cannot come to the B.S.C.A. office so we visit them at their homes to help them with their concerns. In 2022/2023 this outreach activity, we supported 193 individuals.

Bolton Unity Project

1 Intergenerational activity

One of the activities implemented by the B.S.C.A. during 2022/2023 includes intergenerational activities aimed at engaging in activities and interactions, bringing together younger and older generations. The activities were intended to facilitate an understanding of common feelings among different generations of the community.

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Bolton Solidairity Community Association

The report of the trustees for the year ended 31 March 2023

Walk activity was one of the things B.S.C.A. worked with other organisations such as Bolton Christian Community Cohesion, Bolton Wanderers in the Community, Bolton Interfaith Council, Bolton Solidarity Community Association, Bolton Council of Mosques and Bolton Hindu Forum. One of the objectives of this activity is to promote a healthy community, especially for adults and other people. The walking activity also gave the participants opportunities to explore historical buildings and places in and around Bolton.

B.S.C.A., working with other organisations mentioned above, have made it possible to carry out several walking activities in different areas of Bolton in 2022/2023.

3 Social Mixing Program

The purpose of this social mixing activity was to build stronger connections across communities and neighbourhoods in the area. This activity is a part of the Unity Alliance project and it was one of the most important activities implemented by B.S.C.A. during 2022/23.

Again, this activity worked with young people and kids between the ages of 8 and 16 years old. They have had opportunities to interact with each other and we believe that they have enjoyed all the activities of the social mixing program. B.S.C.A. as an organisation has worked with 49 children and young people in this social mixing program. With this program we would like to mention the Bolton Wanderers who worked with us together in this activity.

4 Black History Month

As usual, B.S.C.A. does activities to commemorate black history month once a year. In September 2023, the B.S.C.A. held a gathering at the B.S.C.A. venue to celebrate Black History Month. Some elders from the community gave speeches and poems related to the contribution made by black people during the vents of the black history months. A total of 65 people, both male and female, attended the events celebrating Black and History Month.

B.S.C.A. training and workshops

During 2022/2023 B.S.C.A. delivered 31 training and workshops related to the following issues: Employment, FGM, Volunteering, Digital, Being trustee and Data protection.

A total of 221 people attended the very useful training. Most of them shared positive feedback and they benefitted from this training.

International Women’s Day

In March 2023, the B.S.C.A. women's group celebrated International Women’s Day. This event aimed to raise awareness of the difficult situation that many women in the world are in, some of whom have a difficult life and live under oppression.

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Bolton Solidairity Community Association

The report of the trustees for the year ended 31 March 2023

During the event, the women who attended also shared stories, poetry and music to commemorate International Women’s Day. It is estimated that 87 women and girls attended the event and gave feedback that they enjoyed the day very much.

EU settlement scheme

The United Kingdom (UK) left the European Union (EU) on 31st January 2020 and the deadline to apply to the EU scheme was designed to offer EU, non-EU EEA and Swiss citizens living in the UK before the end of the transition period and their eligible family members, the opportunity to protect their residence in the UK after the transition period has ended.

The majority applied on time but due to various reasons, some people did not apply for permanent settled status and pre-settle on time. We helped some of those people who missed the deadline, and the 39 individuals were supported and applied for UK residence during 2022/2023.

Litter picking

Litter picking was one of the activities of B.S.C.A. during the period 2022/2023. It was an activity designed to encourage kids and young people to volunteer to care for their community and local environment by collecting litter from their streets in the local area. B.S.C.A. did 11 litter-picking activities with kids and young people in Bolton, especially Deane, Derby and Heaton areas.

Homework Club

B.S.C.A. still provides homework club activities to young people aged 6-16 years in Bolton borough who wish to improve their educational attainment. Through this project, we offer support from Key Stage 2 up to GCSE level in Maths, Science and English. The number of students using this system during 2022/2023 was 78 students.

Weekly sport activities

Weekend sports sessions are one of the most important activities that B.S.C.A. provides to young people and one of the activities is football sessions. These sports activities are also designed to boost young people’s sporting skills and act as a diversionary activity that keeps young people away from committing crimes and keeps them positively using their time. The weekend sports sessions take place in different places across Bolton e.g. Pikes Lane and Queens Park. During the period 2022/2023, the workers and volunteers of the project organized about 68 sessions.

Partnership

Although working with other organizations is not an easy task, there are many benefits when you work together with other organizations. In 2022/2023 we were able to successfully deliver several projects by working as an organization with other organizations in Bolton. We believe that the partnership work we have done has not only provided us with resource funding but the experience and knowledge we have shared with other organizations has been of great benefit to us. We will continue the commitment to work with other organizations to overcome the difficult times that are facing us.

B.S.C.A. Bolton Solidarity Community Association

www.boltonB.S.C.A.com

11

Bolton Solidarity Community Association

The report of the trustees for the year ended 31 March 2023

Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities

The Charities Act requires the Board of Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity as at the end of the financial year and of the surplus or deficit of the charity. In preparing those financial statements the Board is required to :-

The Trustees are also responsible for maintaining adequate accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and which are sufficient to show and explain the charity's transactions and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with regulations made under the Charities Act. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are also responsible for the contents of the trustees' report, and the responsibility of the independent examiner in relation to the trustees' report is limited to examining the report and ensuring that, on the face of the report, there are no inconsistencies with the figures disclosed in the financial statements.

This report was approved by the board of trustees on 27 December 2023.

Ahmed Sarman Trustee

12

Bolton Solidarity Community Association

for the year ended 31 March 2023

Independent examiner's report to the trustees on the unaudited financial statements of Bolton Solidarity Community Association.

I report on the financial statements of Bolton Solidarity Community Association for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the cash flow statement and the related notes. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective April 2008), under the historical cost convention and the accounting policies set out therein.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

As the charity's trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts, you consider that the audit requirement of section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the Act) does not apply. It is my responsibility to state, on the basis of procedures specified in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners under section 145(5)(b) of the Act, whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner's report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

Berkley Heath Chartered Certified Accountants

The date upon which this report was completed is :- 27 December 2023

13

Bolton Solidarity Community Association Statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 March 2023

Incoming resources
Staff costs
Repairs
Insurance
Light and heat
Advertising
Telephone
Computer costs
Accountancy fees
General expenses
Net movement in funds
Net Surplus / (Deficit)
Resources expended
Donations
Grants
Total incoming resources
Total funds brought forward
Total resources expended
Rent, rates and service charge
Printing, postage and stationery
Community program
Legal and professional
Depreciation & amortisation
Interest and charges		 Unrestricted
Funds
2023
£
110
51,186
51,296
26,135
5,845
675
858
3,361
4,495
1,276
3,162
3,185
9,513
-
1,753
1,388
2,369
370
64,385
(13,089)
27,176
14,087		 Restricted
Funds
2023
£
-
134,946
134,946
104,539
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
27,920
-
-
-
-
-
132,459
2,487
157,871
160,358		 Total
Funds
2023
£
110
186,132
186,242
130,674
5,845
675
858
3,361
4,495
1,276
3,162
3,185
37,433
-
1,753
1,388
2,369
370
196,844
(10,602)
185,047
174,445		 Total
Funds
2022
£
110
195,723
195,833
135,041
4,320
2,950
780
3,798
3,440
637
1,431
3,998
30,199
3,439
2,436
2,308
1,375
479
196,631
(798)
185,845
185,047

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Bolton Solidarity Community Association Income and expenditure account for the year ended 31 March 2023

Income
Total expenditure
All activities relate to continuing operations.
Net retained surplus for the financial year		 2023
£
186,242
(196,844)
(10,602)		 2022
£
195,833
(196,631)
(798)

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Bolton Solidarity Community Association Statement of Receipts and Payments at 31 March 2023

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
5
Current assets
Cash at bank and in hand
Net current assets
Net assets
Funds
Unrestricted funds
6
Restricted funds
7
Creditors: amounts
falling due within one		 £
£
7,106
169,389
169,389
(1,050)
168,339
175,445
14,087
160,358
174,445
2023		 £
£
4,125
181,972
181,972
(1,050)
180,922
185,047
27,176
157,871
185,047
2022		 £
£
4,125
181,972
181,972
(1,050)
180,922
185,047
27,176
157,871
185,047
2022
185,047
27,176
157,871
185,047

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 27 December 2023 and signed on its behalf by:

Ahmed Sarman Trustee

The notes on pages 17 to 19 form an integral part of these accounts.

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